Chapter 163: Would You Still Come If You Didn’t Want To?

Chapter 163: Chapter 163: Would You Still Come If You Didn’t Want To?

The next morning, the alarm clock rang as usual.

Caroline Whitman woke up in a daze, wriggled out of Adrian Grant’s arms to turn off the alarm, and then lay back down.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds before belatedly realizing that the texture of the blanket felt wrong.

She sat up again and turned on the bedside lamp, only to discover they were still in the hotel.

That’s right.

They had gone at it so late last night that they ended up sleeping here.

Adrian Grant woke up as she moved.

Caroline Whitman’s attention shifted from the ceiling and the blanket to the man lying beside her.

The touch of their smooth skin against each other shocked Caroline Whitman fully awake.

"!"

"Pervert, why aren’t you wearing any clothes?" Caroline Whitman’s body stiffened, her face flushing red first thing in the morning.

’It’s bad enough he isn’t wearing anything, but he didn’t even put any clothes on me!’

Having just woken up to such a coy accusation, Adrian Grant felt himself stir.

He feigned innocence. "We were at the hotel last night, not at home. Where would we get a change of clothes?"

"..."

Caroline Whitman was speechless, but after a moment’s thought, she realized she wasn’t entirely without a comeback.

She asked, "Then why didn’t we go home?"

"You looked so tired, I didn’t want to trouble you. I was afraid all the running around would wake you up."

"Hmph, so *now* you’re being considerate," Caroline Whitman scoffed under her breath. "Why weren’t you this thoughtful *then*?"

"Wasn’t I thoughtful enough? And wasn’t a certain someone enjoying herself just as much?"

"..."

All sorts of sensual images from the previous night flashed through Caroline Whitman’s mind, and her face turned scarlet with shame once more.

’Pot, meet kettle.’

She quickly turned her head away, but suddenly feeling something strange, she scrambled out of bed.

Only to be pulled back down...

...

As they left the hotel, Caroline Whitman got into the car and grumbled, "I’m bringing Ryan home tonight."

Adrian Grant adjusted his glasses with his long, slender fingers and smiled faintly. "Mm, it seems we’re on the same wavelength. I was actually just thinking the same thing."

"..."

She turned her head in silence to look at him.

Now fully dressed, Adrian Grant sat in the car as sunlight streamed in from outside, casting him in a dapper and gentle light.

’A beast in fine clothing. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. A cultured degenerate.’

Caroline Whitman watched him, mentally ticking off the insults.

"What is it? Are you praising me in your head?" Adrian Grant asked, sensing her gaze.

"..."

The corner of Caroline Whitman’s mouth twitched. "How did I never realize how shameless you are?"

Adrian Grant smiled. "It’s a good thing you didn’t, or you never would have fallen for me."

"..."

Caroline Whitman was speechless.

’He’s right.’

’If I’d known Adrian Grant was really like this, I never would have fall... ’

Caroline Whitman looked at his face and silently retracted her previous thought.

"Hmph. The thing you should be most grateful for is that face of yours."

She turned her head away haughtily and looked out the window.

Adrian Grant chuckled. "Thank you for the compliment."

"However," he spoke again.

He took Caroline Whitman’s hand from her lap, his warm palm caressing hers, making it feel a little itchy.

"You chose me, so no regrets are allowed," Adrian Grant said.

"..."

’Is he a little too perceptive?’

’I was just entertaining a hypothetical thought a moment ago.’

’Don’t tell me he has some kind of Mind Reading Technique.’

Caroline Whitman looked down at their intertwined fingers, lightly biting her lip. "You really are domineering."

"Yes. That’s how all domineering CEOs are."

"..."

’Great. I never should have let him read those books.’

...

Adrian Grant drove her to the company. Just as she was about to open the door to get out, the man behind her suddenly leaned over.

Caroline Whitman turned her head instinctively, right into his path.

With one hand braced against the car window and the other still holding her fingers, he trapped her between the seat and the door.

It wasn’t until Caroline Whitman pushed him away that Adrian Grant pulled back from his tender trap.

"A good morning kiss," Adrian Grant explained matter-of-factly.

"..."

’A good morning kiss, my ass.’

’Weren’t the ’good morning’ activities we did this morning good enough?’

"I’ll pick you up for lunch."

Caroline Whitman looked like she wanted to say something but held back, ultimately just letting out an "Oh."

"What, not willing?"

"Even if I wasn’t, would you still come?"

Adrian Grant smiled. "Take it back. I don’t like hearing those two words."

"You’re sick."

Caroline Whitman gave him one last eye-roll, tossed out those two words, and quickly got out of the car.

She was afraid that if she lingered in his car any longer, she probably wouldn’t be getting out at all this morning.

She entered the company and got on the elevator.

Caroline Whitman glanced at the mirrored wall of the elevator and noticed the tips of her ears were red.

She raised a hand to rub them a couple of times, but that only made them redder, so she gave up and just let them be.

The elevator stopped at the top floor. As the doors opened, Secretary Lynch was already waiting at the entrance, holding a tablet.

"Good morning, President Whitman. The conference room is ready for the 9:30 meeting."

"Mm."

Caroline Whitman acknowledged her, pushed open her office door, placed her bag on the desk, and sat down to turn on her computer.

Secretary Lynch followed her in, placed the day’s schedule by her hand, handed her a few documents that needed signing, and set down a freshly prepared coffee.

After waiting a couple of seconds and seeing that President Whitman had no further instructions, she excused herself.

Just as she reached the door, Caroline Whitman suddenly called out, "Oh, right. Pull up the details on that project we have with the Lynch Family for me."

"Of course, President Whitman."

After taking a sip of coffee, Caroline Whitman picked up a few documents and looked them over for a while. She then glanced at the time before getting up and heading to the conference room.

When she returned, she took out her phone and saw that, twenty minutes earlier, she had received a message from Adrian Grant on her silenced phone.

"At the office."

Caroline Whitman stared at the three words and typed back, "Since when does the great CEO have to check in?"

Adrian Grant’s reply was swift: "I didn’t dare to before."

"...Haha, so now that your true nature is slowly being revealed, you dare?"

"Mm-hmm."

Caroline Whitman couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. She was about to put her phone down when another message popped up.

"Thinking about what to eat for lunch."

"Whatever," she replied.

"There’s no dish called ’Whatever’ on the menu. I’ll send you some options in ten minutes."

Sure enough, ten minutes later, Adrian Grant sent her several images.

She opened them and saw screenshots of menus from four different restaurants. On each one, he had marked the recommended dishes in red—all of them spicy, just how she liked.

Caroline Whitman chose the one with the most appetizing-looking food and sent it to him.

Adrian Grant replied instantly: "Okay. What time do you get off?"

Caroline Whitman checked her schedule for the day. Seeing she had nothing else on, she typed back, "I can leave at eleven-thirty."

Adrian Grant: "Mm. I’ll be there on time."

Caroline Whitman glanced at the time. It was still early.

She put down her phone and opened the project materials on the Lynch Family that Secretary Lynch had brought over, quickly flipping through a few pages.

The numbers on the books really were ugly. It was one of the few projects in the Whitman Group’s portfolio that was losing money.

Even if Luna Lynn hadn’t approached her last night, the Whitman Group would have stopped renewing the partnership anyway.

Eleven-thirty.

Adrian Grant arrived downstairs at her company right on time, and his message arrived just as punctually.